Boat detailing

JasonS

JasonS

Member
Nov 7, 2016
44
Lake wallenpaupack
Boat Info
2006 SeaRay 240 Sundeck
Engines
350 Mercruiser
Hey everyone, I brought my 06 240 sundeck to the shop to for some repairs. While there I got an estimate on compounding and waxing the hull only. From the bottom paint to the top. The shop estimate was 760.00. Does that seem high? Would it be worth buying all the gear and doing it myself? Thanks for any input. I'm located in northeast pa.
 
Buy a quality buffer, some pads & they are yours. Takes me 2-3 hours to compound & another 2-3 to wax our 260 Sundeck.
 
Jason, get a good Makita buffer, not a Harbor Freight one. The buffer from HF quits buffing if you put much pressure against the hull. I use a foam pad to apply the wax then wipe it off by hand using a hand towel or microfiber towel.
 
I have had many Sundecks... buffing that out is easy and quick enough to do it your self. Buy a good 8" rotary with a wool pad to compound and a 6" Orbital to polish and wax. you will be happy with the result with little effort

How is Wallenpaupack ?... We trailered there a few times when we lived in Allentown. I always liked that lake
 
Thanks, I’m looking at polishers now. Looking at the Milwaukee fuel cordless polisher. Wallenpaupack is good, never any complaints Blueone.
 
The price quoted to you is $31.67 per foot, assuming a 24 ft boat. For compounding and waxing the hull, I believe this is probably a reasonable price. FWIW, my wife and I own and operate our own boat detailing business. Every boat is different, so we want to see each boat prior to providing an estimate. I believe the market, and pricing, varies greatly around the country. What’s acceptable in one region may differ in another region of the country. We charge $14/ft to wax below the rubrail. If compounding is necessary (essentially another pass across the hull with a buffer and rubbing compound) then the price is $28/ft. Can you do this yourself? Of course you can - our customers hire us for a variety of reasons; sometimes they’re physically unable to do the work, they may not have the time to do it, or they may just not want to do it, or any number of other reasons. It takes effort, some technique with a buffer but the results can be very rewarding. The more you do it, the more proficient you’ll probably become. I love to see well-maintained boats, no matter who maintains them. Whether I run the buffer and sweat in the sun, or whether you do, it takes pretty much the same effort (once you learn what you’re doing).
Tim
 
JustRight said:
The price quoted to you is $31.67 per foot, assuming a 24 ft boat. For compounding and waxing the hull, I believe this is probably a reasonable price. FWIW, my wife and I own and operate our own boat detailing business. Every boat is different, so we want to see each boat prior to providing an estimate. I believe the market, and pricing, varies greatly around the country. What’s acceptable in one region may differ in another region of the country. We charge $14/ft to wax below the rubrail. If compounding is necessary (essentially another pass across the hull with a buffer and rubbing compound) then the price is $28/ft. Can you do this yourself? Of course you can - our customers hire us for a variety of reasons; sometimes they’re physically unable to do the work, they may not have the time to do it, or they may just not want to do it, or any number of other reasons. It takes effort, some technique with a buffer but the results can be very rewarding. The more you do it, the more proficient you’ll probably become. I love to see well-maintained boats, no matter who maintains them. Whether I run the buffer and sweat in the sun, or whether you do, it takes pretty much the same effort (once you learn what you’re doing).
Tim
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I agree!
 
JasonS said:
Hey everyone, I brought my 06 240 sundeck to the shop to for some repairs. While there I got an estimate on compounding and waxing the hull only. From the bottom paint to the top. The shop estimate was 760.00. Does that seem high? Would it be worth buying all the gear and doing it myself? Thanks for any input. I'm located in northeast pa.
Click to expand...
What about above the rub rail?
 
Where can I find all the equipment I need to do the job myself. What website or store would have everything I need to get started?
 
JasonS said:
Where can I find all the equipment I need to do the job myself. What website or store would have everything I need to get started?
Click to expand...
We apply wax with a Shurhold Dual Action Polisher and foam pads. We remove wax (polish the gel coat surface) and do all compounding oxidation removal with Dewalt DWP849X 7-inch/9-inch variable speed rotary polisher. We remove wax with a Makita 7” hook and loop polishing and waxing bonnet. We compound with 7” wool pads from various manufacturers. We use the Meguiars family of marine products - Flagship wax and various compounds. We also use 3M Perfect It compound. Amazon probably has it all in one place, or you could shop around some and find better prices. Check out the Shurhold website for pretty good how-to videos and descriptions of their buffers. YouTube is also your friend, but be careful, there’s a lot of poor information out there. Check out YouTube videos from Deckhand Detailers in Seattle, they’re excellent.
Tim
 
Jason, your dark hull will take more effort to maintain than a white hull would...BUT keeping a dark hull is very gratifying, at least it is for me! The hull of my Sundancer is green, so it takes extra effort each year to keep it looking beautiful. I just wanted to stress a basic detailing principle we follow: always use the least aggressive method that produces the desired result. Be patient. You can always go more aggressive if you need to. For instance, when compounding a boat, the buffer is removing gel coat from the surface, and that small amount of gel coat is gone forever. Don’t let this scare you, just be cognizant of the fact that some products/techniques (wetsanding, aggressive compounds, etc) must be used sparingly over time. This is why it is advantageous to spend some time learning as much as you can (for instance - seeking advise on Club Sea Ray!) and dialing in your skills and technique. I could go on forever, because this stuff is an obsession for me. Cheers!
Tim
 
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We waxed our boat last fall (because we detail boats for customers in the Spring and don’t have time to detail our own boat prior to splashing it - we basically live on our boat and run our business while on the boat). These pics are from this Spring after shrink wrap was removed. We only had to remove some scuff marks on the hull caused by the shrink wrap. We removed the scuff marks with a buffer and re-waxed those areas - about 45 min of work, and then our boat went into the water on April 2nd. We’ve seen snow, and a lot of rain and lousy weather this Spring, but summer has finally arrived!
Tim
 
JasonS said:
Where can I find all the equipment I need to do the job myself. What website or store would have everything I need to get started?
Click to expand...
Google Autogeek. That’s a good place to start for the basics. Get on their mailing list for frequent emails about sales and specials.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I plan on buying some equipment and trying it myself. Above and below the rub rail there are stickers. How do I compound around the stickers?
 
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JasonS said:
Thanks for all the info guys. I plan on buying some equipment and trying it myself. Above and below the rub rail there are stickers. How do I compound around the stickers?
Click to expand...
You don't really compound around them, but rather exercise a light touch as you run your buffer over them. This requires a little experience. You don't linger on top of them and don't lean on the buffer when on top of them. With experience you will discover the correct amount of pressure to use.
 
JasonS said:
Thanks for all the info guys. I plan on buying some equipment and trying it myself. Above and below the rub rail there are stickers. How do I compound around the stickers?
Click to expand...

If you mean vinyl graphics, like a boot stripe and numbers: I generally either tape them off or try to avoid them with the buffer.
The heat the buffer and wool pad generate will shorten the life span of vinyl stripes and lettering over time.
Every time you go at something with a buffer, pad and compound or polish you are removing something from the surface to make it clean and smoother again so it reflects light better. That’s what helps to make it shiny. The shiny surface of the vinyl is not very thick.
I use polish on them but I do it by hand and they come out just as shiny as the surrounding gel coat.
The vinyl is smooth and not porous so it’s pretty easy to remove any crud that gets on it and there really is no need to hit it with a machine.
 
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We tape off all stainless fittings and any graphics that are fragile, then use a light touch over untaped graphics. In the photo above, we taped off the Sea Ray “Warning” stickers in the center of the swim deck because compound will wipe the writing clean off of those stickers. We also tape off New York State Registration stickers, as compound wipes the coloring off them quickly.
 
I pay $790 for a full detail on my 330DA. $760 is excessive for a 240SD.
 
JustRight said:
View attachment 71615 View attachment 71614

We waxed our boat last fall (because we detail boats for customers in the Spring and don’t have time to detail our own boat prior to splashing it - we basically live on our boat and run our business while on the boat). These pics are from this Spring after shrink wrap was removed. We only had to remove some scuff marks on the hull caused by the shrink wrap. We removed the scuff marks with a buffer and re-waxed those areas - about 45 min of work, and then our boat went into the water on April 2nd. We’ve seen snow, and a lot of rain and lousy weather this Spring, but summer has finally arrived!
Tim
Click to expand...
I never thought of that. Since I just detailed the boat myself for the first time this spring I may hit it again this fall. I would love to lose that job in the spring. I'd definitely get in much quicker.
 
tdschafer said:
I never thought of that. Since I just detailed the boat myself for the first time this spring I may hit it again this fall. I would love to lose that job in the spring. I'd definitely get in much quicker.
Click to expand...

I give my hull a deep cleaning and wax in the fall.
In the Spring it gets a machine polish before multiple coats of wax because I like to get back in by early April.
Getting as much done as possible in the fall definitely saves you some time in the Spring.
The cleaner you put it away the cleaner it will be when you unwrap, but after months sitting under the shrinkwrap it still needs some work before you splash.
To save time, I mainly focus below the rubrails after taking the shrinkwrap off and take care of the rest back at my slip.
 
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